Oxygen leak recorded on International Space Station, possibly in US section, source says

15:21 GMT 20.08.2020(updated 16:16 GMT 20.08.2020) Get a short url

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Currently, NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov are on board the International Space Station (ISS). The three astronauts arrived on the ISS on July 20 and will return to Earth in December or January.

A small air leak has been detected on the International Space Station (ISS), possibly in the US segment, but it does not threaten the safety of the crew, a source said.

“According to the head of control of the Russian section of the ISS, the station crew will move to the Zvezda module on Friday to control the pressure in the modules of the US sector,” Roscosmos said.

The decision was made jointly with the United States. The crew will perform regular duties during the three days they spend in the Russian section. Roscosmos confirmed that the crew was not in danger.

The source said earlier that they plan to isolate the US module on the station by closing the hatches between the segments.

According to the source, the air leak does not pose a threat to the safety of the ISS and its crew.

Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner, as well as American astronaut Christopher Cassidy, remain on the ISS.

The last time an air leak on the ISS was recorded was on August 30, 2018. The reason turned out to be an artificial hole in the Soyuz spacecraft. Cosmonauts filled the hole with a sealant, but the cause is still unknown. A commission from Roscosmos determined that the ship could have been damaged on Earth.

In 2004, an air leak was discovered on the US segment of the ISS. After a long search, the astronauts discovered that it was in the pipe on the porthole of the Destiny module.